Keith Tankard
www.the-time-traveller.com
email: [email protected]
No. 2 of 2013
In this issue:
• The world’s shortest war .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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• What was it that killed the mammoths? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3
• What did Bronnie find out? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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• On ebooks and things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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• Graaff Reinet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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• Which Pope reigned for the shortest time? .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7
• Establishing a new harbour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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The world’s shortest war
The shortest war ever to take place happened on 27 August 1896 between 09h02 and
09h40. That’s just 38 minutes. It was fought on the island of Zanzibar, the protagonists being
the British army and a young wannabe sultan. Britain won.
Zanzibar had been under the control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698 after they had
pushed the Portuguese from the territory. In 1858 Sultan Majid bin Said declared the island’s
independence from Oman, a declaration which had the support of Great Britain. In effect,
therefore, Zanzibar became a British protectorate.
Britain was intensely interested in the neighbouring territories of Kenya and Tanganyika,
partly as a means to prevent German expansion there but also in an effort to suppress the slave
trade operating through the territory.
On the morning of 25 August 1896, the pro-British
Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini quite suddenly died and it was
suspected that his young nephew, Khalid bin Bargash, had
murdered him. Barghash immediately seized power and took
refuge in the palace with some 3,000 soldiers and three Arab
dhows for defence.
Britain, however, frowned upon this coup d’tat and
assembled a small fleet of three modern naval cruisers
together with two gunboats. These were anchored in front of
the palace. An ultimatum was duly issued and, when it was
ignored, the flotilla opened fire.
Khalid bin Bargash
That was at 09h02 and the shelling continued till 09h40,
during which time some 500 of Bargash’s soldiers had been
killed, his palace badly damaged and his three dhows destroyed.
Bargash then fled to the German embassy where he was given refuge. Although the
British demanded his extradition to stand trial, he fled once again, succeeding in escaping
Zanzibar. Although he was eventually captured in Dar es Salaam, he wasn’t imprisoned. He
would die in Mombasa in 1927.
The would-be Sultan probably didn’t think that the British would take too much notice of
his little coup d’tat but his misjudgement led to the shortest war in history. Britain then
demanded the government of Zanzibar pay for the shells expended in his eviction.
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What was it that killed the mammoths?
The animals which we could call the mega-beasts (mammoths, mastodons, sabre toothed
tigers) became extinct very suddenly about 12,900 years ago. Very suddenly indeed. But why
did they die out so astonishingly quickly? Strangely, it’s one of those things which has not yet
evoked a successful theory.
Three theories predominate. 1. The mega-beasts couldn’t adapt to a sudden and
massive climate change. 2. Humans wiped them out. 3. A massive comet or meteor
struck the earth at that moment, causing a similar
catastrophe as killed the dinosaurs some
65 million years ago.
The human involvement theory has much going
for it. Those scientists who propose it point to the
strange coincidence that these mega-beasts died out
on roughly the same route along which humans were
migrating. It’s not a theory which can be proved
though.
The climate change theory definitely has much
going for it. The last ice age appeared to have
virtually melted by 12,900 years ago when a catastrophic icing over suddenly ensued.
Essentially another ice age struck which would last some 1,500 years.
This moment has been given the name “Younger Dryas” because of pollen from the Dryas
flower which has been discovered in the Alps. The flower is found only in the tundra areas of
the earth but residue of the pollen in the Alps indicates a massive freeze during those years.
The later meltdown would also have been sudden, happening over a period of just 50
years, although some scientist say it was even more rapid than that. Perhaps only 20 years.
But it seems certain that the northern hemisphere during that time was very, very cold indeed
. . . so cold that the mega-beasts just could not survive.
The third theory is that a massive comet or meteor struck the earth at that moment,
triggering the extinction episode. Some scientists link this comet with the onset of the Younger
Dryas, speculating that the former set the latter in motion. The problem, however, is that there
is so very little evidence to support this theory. Indeed, some scientist dismiss this particular
explanation with absolute contempt, calling it pseudoscience.
What do you think? For a further discussion of this, why not go to the follow National
Geographic webpage:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/09/130910-comet-impact-mammoths-climate-younger-dryas-quebec-science/
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What did Bronnie find out?
Bronnie nodded. “But it’s the Younger Dryas which interests us,” she said, “because it
happened between 13,000 and 11,500 years ago . . . during the Age of Leo.”
“Do you know what triggered it?”
“We’ve seen a couple of theories,” said Bronnie. “One is that there was a huge lake which
formed in the centre of America . . . Lake Agassiz. It had vast walls of glacial ice.”
“With the sudden warming,” Jelly took over, “the ice melted abruptly, the glacial walls
collapsed and the fresh water rushed down into the Atlantic Ocean.”
“Thus disrupting the North Atlantic conveyor,” Bronnie completed the argument. “And the
Younger Dryas was the response . . . another sudden but short lived ice age.”
“Other theories?” asked Uncle Bertie.
“Some scientists say that perhaps something similar happened with a rapid meltdown of
the icesheets around Antarctica. Similar theory, different icesheet.”
“Others also argue for the eruption of the Laacher See
volcano in Germany,” said Jelly. “Like the great eruption
75,000 years ago which triggered the onset of that ice age.”
“But I don’t think this volcano was big enough to have
that sort of impact on global temperatures,” Bronnie added.
“It was nowhere near the size of your earlier one 75,000 years
ago.”
“And some put forward a theory about a comet striking
the earth over North America,” added Jelly.
“But most scientists seem to be rather sceptical,”
Bronnie commented. “In fact, some believe that the research
itself has been rather dodgy.”
“But that could be changing,” Uncle Bertie pointed out.
“Recent ice cores drilled from glaciers in Greenland indicate
a layer of platinum from an exploded meteor . . . which could
then also have been responsible for the extinction of the
mammoths and the sabre toothed tigers.”
From: Keith Tankard’s, Time Travellers, Book 2: “The Awakening”. To be released in
early 2014.
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On ebooks and things
It’s now a year since Broken Promises was launched, my ebook on the German settlers
to the Eastern Cape. For me, it’s time to reflect. What did I do right? What did I do wrong?
What could be done better next time?
It was a last minute decision to go electronic and not opt for
a standard paperback. But, apart from a few people who hated the
idea (including museums which are not yet ready for the future),
the majority of readers have welcomed it.
I’m a follower of Joel Friedlander, an American agent who
specialises in publishing. His advice: if one is writing non-fiction,
one shouldn’t even consider publishers. It’s a whole new game, he
says, and it is best served by digital books and self-publication.
One loses control if one goes through the traditional route, he
says. Everything (from front cover to layout and even the text) is
at the mercy of the publisher who doesn’t have the author’s
interests at heart. The publishing houses used to control marketing
but not any more. Indeed, the modern publisher depends on the
author to market his or her own books.
And therein lies the rub. The modern writer has to have a platform. In fact, author Joanna
Penn says that most publishers today won’t even touch a book unless the author can guarantee
such a platform. The publisher then merely takes control of the nitty gritty of producing the book
but leaves the author to look after marketing.
In terms of non-fiction, most authors do have a platform and
merely have to create the digital framework for marketing. Jeff
Peires is the recognised authority on Eastern Cape Xhosa history.
Gill Vernon is the expert on Portugese shipwrecks. I know all about
early East London and now, of course, the German settlers.
And then, of course, there’s the question of profit. One is
very, very lucky to make as much as 20% on sales with a publisher
but it could be as low as 10%. Fantasy author, Indie Drummond,
says she made little more than pizza money on her first book.
Where now Keith Tankard? Early next year my second
history ebook will be launched: Book 1 of my six part Time
Traveller’s series which I’m calling The Beginning. If you liked what
Jostein Gaarder did for philosophy in Sophie’s World, you should
love what I am doing here for world history.
And I’m going to offer this first book as a freebie, so watch this space. After that, it’s time
for Frontier Port, the first of about six books on the early history of East London.
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Graaff Reinet
If a town rich in history is worthy of a visit, then Graaff Reinet should be on your map. It’s
the fifth oldest town in South Africa, dating to 1786 which was in the dying days of the Dutch
East India Company. It was named after Governor Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff and his wife
whose maiden name was Reinet.
It was very much a village on the peripheries of the Colony. Indeed, a journey by ox
wagon to Cape Town would have taken anything between a month and six. No-one would have
wished to undertake such an adventure unless there was an urgent reason, usually the sale of
dried skins and the purchase of barrels of gunpowder and shot for their rifles. Medicines and
clothing would then have been added to the list.
One had to be independent-minded
to live out there. And it was probably that
mentality which created the unique history
of the little town because in 1795 the
trekboer leaders declared their
independence of the DEIC and proclaimed
a republic.
The administration in Cape Town
had little time to respond before they too
were overthrown by the British who
captured the Cape as part of their war on
Napoleon and his allies.
The Valley of Desolation near Graaff Reinet
The republicans at Graaff Reinet
hoped that the French would come to their
aid but it was a vain prospect. Eventually the leaders were captured by the British, were tried
at the Castle in Cape Town and were sentenced to death, sentences which were never carried
out because the British soon reached an agreement with France, and then set free the Graaff
Reinet rebels.
But this is all modern stuff. Perhaps more exciting is the Valley of Desolation, dolerite
mountains looking like a dragon’s back just outside the town. This dramatic natural structure
dates back some 200 million years, to the time when the supercontinent of Gondwana was
breaking apart and mega-volcanoes were spewing their magma the length and breadth of South
Africa.
Although the surface magma cooled to form a thick crust of basalt, most of this has
eroded away except in the Drakensberg range. Across the rest of South Africa, the magma
forced cracks in the layers of sedimentary rock. It then cooled slowly to form sills (in the
horizontal cracks) and dykes (in the vertical ones).
The Valley of Desolation consists then of the 200 million year old dolerite sills which have
been exposed by erosion to form the spectacular jagged rocks. Elsewhere in South Africa it
may be seen in the flat tops of the Karoo koppies.
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Which Pope reigned for the shortest time?
Pope John Paul I died on 28 September 1978 after just 33 days as Pope. The anniversary
of his death was therefore just a few weeks ago.
This, however, raises an interesting problem. Wikipedia (which, as you know, is always
correct) says he was the 11th shortest serving Pope. The shortest reign, says Wikipedia, was
that of Pope Urban VII who died on 27 September 1590 after serving just 13 days.
Go to www.ask.com, on the other hand, and you will
discover that John Paul I was definitely the shortest
serving of all Popes.
On the other hand, the Guinness Book of Records
gives that honour to Pope Stephen II who was Pope for
just two days, dying on 24 March 752.
Pope Leo IX, on the other hand, survived 11 days,
making him the 2nd shortest serving Pope.
Hmmmmm. This is why I love history. Everyone
has a different opinion. Who then can one trust?
Clearly www.ask.com is wrong! Shame on them.
Someone didn’t do his homework properly.
Pope John Paul I
But is Wikipedia correct with positing Pope Urban VII as the shortest serving pontiff, or
shall we give the honour for accuracy to the Guinness Book of Records?
The solution is a technical one. Both Popes Stephen II or Leo IX were elected Pope and
both had chosen a name BUT neither had yet been crowned at the time of their deaths.
And so the question: does the Pontiff become Pope from the moment of his election?
Or is it only from his installation . . . his “official erection” as Pope, so to speak?
Are any of my readers by any chance Canon Lawyers because this problem really does
need a legal opinion?
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Establishing a new harbour
Lieutenant William Jervois' first impression of the proposed harbour at the Buffalo River
mouth was one of disappointment. The entrance to the river, he wrote, was easy for small boats
but impracticable for ships of any size, while the river mouth itself was so shallow that it could
be crossed easily on foot at low tide. The water supply in the area was scanty, and he thought
it would dry up in times of drought.
This was therefore not exactly the right place for a harbour and General Sir George
Berkeley was inclined to agree with him. He wrote in his own private notes that, if small vessels
could cross into the lagoon, the water would be deep enough for them to anchor but the
entrance to the river was almost closed by a bar of sand which would prevent larger vessels
from entering.
There was but one narrow passage, Berkeley wrote. Although this was deep enough for
surf-boats to enter the river, it would not allow bigger ships to cross the bar. In fact, at low tide,
there was a ford across the entire entrance. He believed also that the landing of stores could
be “uncertain” owing to the very heavy rollers that set in with particular winds along the coast.
But then the unthinkable happened. Early the very next morning, General Berkeley
penned his official report which entirely contradicted what both he and his good lieutenant had
observed the previous day.
The river mouth was in fact ideal as a port, he said, “for once within the bar the channel
is deep, and with smooth water; and a ledge of rocks forms a natural pier, which, with a little
help, may be made convenient to land stores at any time of tide. The plateau above will allow
any sized work to cover the stores from attack; and I have every reason to believe, from
appearances that water is abundant enough for the troops.”
What on earth was going on here?
The truth of the matter was simply that Berkeley was telling the Governor, Sir Henry
Pottinger, what he wanted to hear. There was also the time factor. Sir Henry was in a hurry and
neither Berkeley nor Jervois had as yet drafted their opinions. Instead, the General instructed
his engineer to copy John Bailie's report of January 1836, and it was therefore Bailie's
questionable opinion which was rushed off to the Governor in Berkeley's name.
On such a false pretext, the port of East London was created. Is it not in little such ways
as this that the entire course of history is subverted?
Your comments would be very welcome. As would any suggested topics for discussion.
Please respond to [email protected]. And if you liked this ezine,
please send a copy to your friends.
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